Toxic Relations
by What The Flying Fudge
Summary: When an old adversary of the Crystal Gems that had been wandering the globe for over 5000 years decides to make her move and fulfill her ambitions, it's up to the Crystal Gems to stop her before she tears the entire team apart.
1. Chapter 1: Big Reveal

**Toxic Relations**

* * *

Our story begins with a man stuck behind a jewelry store counter, looking bored out of his mind. He knew why he took the job, it paid okay and occasionally a pretty girl walked in, but why did it have to be so boring? He spent 8 hours every day stuck behind a counter with no real way of keeping himself preoccupied in between the stretches of nothing happening. He heaved a sigh right as the bell above the front door jingled. The man's head jerked towards the sound, seeing a tall, green skinned woman with short black hair and yellow eyes standing in the doorway, a look of determination on her face.

"Yes?" He asked with a bored tone, stepping from behind the counter. The woman took a deep breath, smoothing out her dark green dress shirt and black vest.

"Excuse me, sir. I'm trying to find a nice gemstone for an anniversary present." She apologized, scratching the back of her neck, a sound like fingernails sliding over marble being heard before pointing towards a glass cube on a pedestal that sat in the middle of the store. "What about that one? The one in the box?"

"The owners say that it's been there since the 40s and that it's not to be removed from the case. Sorry miss." He replied, pepping up a bit. She approached the cube, seeing an average sized black gemstone on a blue cushion. She scowled, noticing the man was approaching her. "So, miss, is there anything else I can help you with? Perhaps a different gem?" She didn't respond. Instead she grabbed him by the back of his head and began slamming it into the glass.

"No! This! One! Is! Fine!" She yelled, a new word coming out every time his face hit the glass. After the last word, his face broke the container. She threw him aside and grabbed the gem from its prison. "You disgust me. Why would you keep my date under glass?" She attempted to spit on the now unconscious man, but nothing came out. "... No matter. She's free now. And now she's going to help me change, everything."

A green flash filled the store for only a moment. She set the gem down, and a green light began to glow as gem began to take form, becoming a large, muscle-bound, black skinned behemoth with her black pupils surrounded by bright green rings.

"My name is Uranium. You answer to me now." She stated confidently. "State your name and former purpose."

"Flint. Front line Quartz soldier." The new form replied with a deep, gravelly voice.

"Okay. Good. I've still got it." Uranium said with a nod before hearing the man let out a low groan of immense pain. "Oh walk it off! I've seen humans bounce back from worse!" She rolled her eyes as she walked over to the door. "Well come on Flint, we have a job to do."

* * *

 **000000**

* * *

"... Eyewitness reports say that they say a green skinned woman walk in, and leave with a large woman with black skin not too far behind. The man who was attacked is currently in critical condition, but is expected to survive. From Channel 6 News, I'm-" Steven sat in front of his TV, watching the local news with Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl sitting around him. He turned it off, not sure what to make of the situation the news lady had just given him.

"This is not good." Pearl muttered before turning to Steven. "Steven, we're going to need you to head out to the barn and bring Lapis and Peridot back here." She continued with a nervous smile, "If this was done by who we think it is-"

"And it is." Garnet added.

"- then they might be in danger." Pearl finished, glaring at the fusion for a moment. The boy nodded before looking at Amethyst, seeing if she had anything to add.

"Why're you looking at me?" Amethyst asked. "I don't know who they're talking about." Steven nodded before running to the Warp Pad.

"Okay! See you guys!" He yelled, preparing to warp to the barn before Pearl shouted "Wait!".

"Amethyst, go with Steven." Pearl ordered. "He'll be safer that way." The purple Gem obnoxiously "hmmm"ed for a moment before replying. "Yeah, sure, whatever." She quickly joined the boy on the warp-pad.

"Okay! Now I'll see you guys later." He said before the two of them disappeared.

* * *

 **000000**

* * *

Meanwhile, at the barn, Lapis and Peridot were sitting in a truck bed embedded in the altered barn they called home, doing what they normally do; binge-watching Camp Pining-Hearts for the 90th time. The binge-watching was going normally, Lapis was watching the hammy teen actors with a bored yet amused expression while Peridot watched with eager anticipation. The blue skinned Gem didn't understand how her tiny green roommate kept her enjoyment of the series so fresh, but whatever kept her happy was fine by her. She looked down at the pool beneath them, smiling at her own reflection as she saw the water ripple. She looked up, then around, then up even more, then towards the horizon before noticing two figures approaching them.

"Hey Peridot? Could you put that on pause?" She asked, floating down to the ground. She heard the green Gem groan then start tapping her foot impatiently. It didn't take long for the two to be within shouting distance. "Hey! Who are you two!?" She yelled. She didn't get a response, instead one of the things in the distance began to rush towards her. She instinctively formed a large wall of water in front of her which the Gem crashed into and stopped, though it looked like it was still trying to claw her way towards the blue Gem. She took a moment to look at her opponent as said opponent struggled to move forward. As she got a better angle, the Gem looked normal enough; black skin, long gray hair, black eyes, black tuxedo with green dress shirt and black bow tie. The only weird part about her was that her both of her black eyes were surrounded by green rings. "That's, weird." She muttered as the water wall beginning to ripple. The Gem inside was done waiting. It let out a loud yell, finally getting through the wall and grabbing Lapis by the neck. She squirmed in resistance."Peridot! Help!" She yelled to the truck bed above the two.

A loud screech resembling a battle cry was heard as Peridot leapt from above, wielding a large stick with both hands. She landed on the black Gem's shoulders and began wailing on the back of her head with the stick. "Let her go!" She yelled. Lapis was released, only for Peridot to be grabbed and thrown in the direction of the other figure.

Peridot landed with a thud in front of a different green Gem, and groaned as she got back up. "Oh. A Peridot. And you're not corrupted. Lucky me." The green Gem extended a hand. Peridot slapped it away.

"I'm not stupid." She replied, getting up. "Now call the Quartz off!" She readied her stick.

"She has a name you know. Her name is Flint, and mine is Uranium."

"Wait. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because my dear, you'll be saying our names a lot in a little while." Uranium grinned smugly.

"Over my regenerated body." She growled.

"Well that is the point." As she said this, she was cut off by a medium sized stick striking her in the jaw. Not with a lot of force, but just enough to catch her off guard. "You little ****. I was retorting!" Another smack across the face. "Alright brat. Time to put you back in your place." She turned towards her Quartz. "Flint! I need the Peridot pummeled!" She got no response besides the sound of two Gems struggling to beat each other out. "Oh dear. I'm on my own for this." Peridot grinned maliciously.

Steven and Amethyst looked around as he stepped off the Warp Pad. "Lapis!? Peridot!? Hello!?" Steven yelled. It was at that moment they felt the ground shake beneath him. They started running for the barn, arriving to see Lapis on the ground, having failed in fending off a Jasper-sized Gem and Peridot beating on another Gem with a stick. "What?" He muttered to himself, watching Peridot wail on the Gem. "Amethyst, go help Peridot. I'll help Lapis."

"Right." Amethyst nodded, before running over to Peridot. "Hey Peri, how's it goin'?"

"Fine." Peridot replied, still whacking Uranium with her stick. The conversation ended as the purple Gem watched her friend continue whacking the green form beneath them, a dull "Ow" accompanying every strike.

Meanwhile, Steven had caught the attention of Flint, who was now trying to beat his pink shield down to beat him down. "Lapis! A little help here!?" He asked, seeing that the Gem in question was still picking herself up. She groaned before noticing the boy's situation.

"Hang on!" She yelled, forming a water hand around the distracted Quartz. She proceeded to squirm, trying to break free. "What should I do with her?!"

"Uh, throw her!" Steven said, getting back on his feet. Without a second thought, the black Gem was chucked away from the two, and the two shared a sigh of relief. Lapis then realized where she was going to land.

"Oh no." She sighed, gripping the bridge of her nose.

"What? What's wrong?" He asked.

Meanwhile, Peridot had gone from whacking to poking Uranium with her stick, the latter having curled up in the fetal position. Amethyst was still watching intently. Then, all of a sudden, a deep, but unmistakably female war cry was heard from above them. "Do you hear that?" Peridot asked. The two looked up, seeing an oncoming Flint falling straight at them.

"I've got this." Amethyst said with a confident smile as she summoned a whip and tried whipping the oncoming Quartz. While it did make contact, it didn't leave a mark as the black Quartz grabbed the end and yanked on it, bringing her purple sister of sorts to her. Flint kept screaming as she punched Amethyst back to the ground. She hit the Earth with a loud thud, barely drowned out by the cry of the other Quartz. She groaned, trying to get up, right before Flint's fist made contact with her, causing her form to implode back into the Gem.

"Amethyst!" Peridot yelled, rushing over to her poofed friend, which was now in Flint's hands. The worker struck the black behemoth with the stick, but she didn't flinch. Instead she squatted the green Gem away from her and walked to her master. Lapis and Steven rushed over to her.

"Peridot! Are you okay?" Steven asked as he helped her up. Peridot didn't answer, as all she could do was stare at the clod that had slapped her aside. She watched as the Flint gave the purple gem to Uranium, who had gotten up by that point.

"Ow! Ow. Everything hurts." Uranium whined, hunching over as Flint handed her the gem. "And, I'm over it." She stood up straight, seeing two Gems staring at her in disgust and Steven staring in shock.

"Let her go!" Steven demand, raising his shield. The shield caught her off guard.

"Wait a minute. Rose? Rose Quartz!?" She said, grinning slightly. "Woo boy, the years have not been kind to you."

"You, knew my mom?" He asked, lowering his shield slightly.

"Well, no. Not personally anyways." She said, shaking her head, feeling Amethyst try to reform. She quickly clasped her hands around the gem. "Heard a lot about you though. You sound like the humanitarian type. Not a fan of that."

"Oh great. It's gonna be Jasper all over again." He told himself, irritation in his tone as his shield fell. He approached the radioactive Gem, and arm outstretched. "Now please. Let her go, and everyone can leave. No one else has to get hurt." He placed a hand on her arm, and felt a burning sensation go through his hand. He pulled it back with a loud "Ow!"

"Seems that the years have also made you soft. Shame really." She said, turning to Flint. "And on that note, I'd say we should take our leave. Flint." She began walking away, now struggling to keep Amethyst contained with the Quartz following behind. They stepped onto the Warp-Pad and turned back to the three. "Ta-ta." And with that the two of them were gone. Silence filled the area as Steven and Peridot looked at Lapis.

"Why didn't you do anything?" The technician asked, looking and sounding furious.

"Would've taken to long to get the water over here." Lapis said, pointing to the tiny puddle that was the pool next to the barn.

"... Fair enough." Was all she said back as Steven headed towards the Warp-Pad.

"Can you two come with me?" He asked. "I don't want you to get taken like, Amethyst." He looked at his feet, kicking a small pebble off of the pad. The two nodded before joining him and warping back to the Temple.

* * *

 **00000**

* * *

The three appeared back at the Temple, met by the worried gazes of Pearl and maybe Garnet. No one could tell with her blank face and her concealed eyes. "You two, uh, make yourself at home." Steven said. Peridot almost immediately ran for the bathroom and locked herself inside while Lapis walked calmly outside. "Well, some things never change, I guess."

"Steven, where's Amethyst?" Pearl asked, looking around the room.

"Well, um… She was... "

"Captured?" Garnet asked.

"Yeah." He replied with a sigh. "Yeah she was." He sat down, his head in his hands.

"Don't worry Steven. We'll get her back." The fusion said, leaning her visor down to show her winking with her 3rd eye.

"I guess you're right." He replied with a small laugh as he got back up.

"Besides. There's a corrupted Gem in need of bubbling on the other side of the country." Garnet continued. "After all of this, we'd prefer having you with us. Right Pearl?" The pale Gem nodded vigorously as both her and her cube-haired counterpart stepped onto the Warp-Pad. He quickly joined them, and in a bright flash, they were gone.

Peridot, still in the bathroom, heaved a small sigh. "They're gone." She didn't know why, but she didn't feel comfortable in the Temple with the 4, or 3 in this case, of them around. She slammed against the door and slid down it. "Why? Why did it have to be her?" She asked herself. She sulked for a few moments before hearing the Warp-Pad activate again. "They're back already?" She poked her head out of the door just in time to see Amethyst enter the Temple's main door. "What is she doing?" The purple Gem quickly returned to the Warp-Pad, two pink bubbles hovering over her hand. "Amethyst!" The green Gem shouted. Amethyst's head instantly snapped towards the former. Peridot took a moment to look over the purple Gem's new appearance; everything was the same (short stature, long white hair, purple skin, tiny gray boots, etc.), but her torso was now clad a green tank top, her legs were covered by black leggings and her normal purple eyes now had a ring of green surrounding them."Why do you have those?" No response. "Where are you taking them?" Still nothing, instead she moved towards the former technician. "What are you doing?"

"She did say no loose ends." She muttered, letting one of the bubbles float up to the ceiling before summoning a whip.

"Wait!" Peridot yelled, trying to run but was quickly cut short. She had just lost feeling in her legs. She looked down, seeing that she had been severed at the waist. "Oh." Both halves of her body poofed and Peridot's Gem hit the ground. Amethyst reached for her prize, but she hesitated. She sat down next to the Gem, thinking, before finally saying "Stay safe you clod", grabbing the bubble from the ceiling and warping out of the Temple.

Steven, Garnet and Pearl returned home a few hours later, and all had been put in a better mood after the hunt. "Took you three long enough." Peridot told them with a harsh tone, sitting on the couch and staring at the opposite wall. It was fairly obvious that she had been poofed and reformed, with her now star-shaped hair and former sleeveless green uniform replaced with bright green coveralls with a yellow star both the back, the upper arms of both sleeves and a tiny one on her right breast.

"New look huh?" Steven asked, sitting next to Peridot as the other two entered the Temple's Burning Room. "When'd you find the time?"

"Just a minute Steven." She replied peacefully, closing her eyes as the sound of Pearl screaming echoed from behind the temple door. "There it is."

"Steven! There are bubbles missing!" Pearl yelled, poking her head out of the door while looking clearly freaked out.

"Wait, which bubbles?" Steven asked, entering the Burning Room.

* * *

 **00000**

* * *

"Oh it was a good idea bringing you on board." Uranium said as Amethyst handed off the bubbles to her. With Peridot and Lapis out of the way, she had decided to take over the barn as a temporary base. "Now then, let's see what's in bubble number one." She dug her fingers into the orb before hesitating. "Flint, be a dear and be ready to poof this one if it gets out of control." Flint gave a small nod, assuming an aggressive position. The bright green Gem ripped the bubble open and grabbed the gem inside; a small orange kite shaped that looked more like a gem shard more than anything else. "Alright, let's see what you are." She covered the gem with both of her hands as a small green light escaped from the cracks in the temporary prison. She set the gem down and stood back, a light starting to fill the surrounding area. "She's coming back. Everybody act natural."

When the Gem had taken shape, it looked like a beast. An orange beast, speckled with teal. Her hair was long, white and unruly with a lot of it draped over her shoulders and two dark teal horns jutting out from the side of her head. Her body was a mix of orange and teal, covered in teal spikes, and possessed proportions more suited to a gorilla than a warrior. The beast looked down on Uranium, the lack of green rings around her irises filling the leader with worry. She was quickly grabbed and pulled towards it.

"Flint. Don't do anything until I tell you to. I'm gonna have to win her over. " She said, now face to face with the monster.

"Who, are, you?" It asked, struggling to say the words.

"My name is Uranium. What's yours?"

"Jas, per."

"I think I remember hearing about you. Before all, this, happened." She flicked one of the semi-corrupted Gem's horns. "You were quite the fighter if the rumors were true, despite where you started. You were one of the lucky ones. You got to leave once the war turned stale. When the Diamonds thought this rock wasn't worth the trouble." The beast set her down, a quiet hiss echoing through the barn. "And then you came back. You got stranded here. And Homeworld doesn't do anything to help you." She looked at her face, seeing Jasper in thought, the gears slowly moving in her head. She was getting through. She smiled to herself before moving closer. "I want to stop that. No Gem should be put through, this." She flicked the horn again. "So please, join me. We can stop all of this."

"How?" Jasper asked simply.

"We take back this planet. Make it what it was supposed to be. Then we move onto the Diamonds. Destroy them. Start a new chapter for Gem-kind. And make sure another Earth doesn't happen. So, will you join our little group of hopeful misfits?"

The beast smiled, walking over to Flint before taking a seat. "I'll take that as a yes. Now, let's see what's in bubble number 2." She dug her fingers into the bubble, yet again tearing it open, but this time she couldn't catch it in time. "Shoot. Cursed butter fingers." She hissed, watching it begin to take shape. "Wait, I think I know this one." A familiar rainbow haired, grey-skinned blacksmith took shape, panting as she looked at her hands.

"I'm out? I'm out!" Bismuth exclaimed before looking around to her company. "Oh great. Homeworlders. And I bet you want to shatter me. Well, get it over with."

"We're not going to shatter you." Uranium said bluntly.

"Why?" She asked, now looking Uranium in the eye.

"Well, it appears we have a similar enemy now."

"Wait, you Homeworlders want the Diamonds shattered? Why?"

"The answer is quite simple really. They left us all on a rock they had abandoned, and corrupted those who couldn't leave. Very few were spared. I was one of the lucky ones, and from the looks of things, so were you."

"They shattered my friends, and corrupted their own?"

"Yeah, that's the long and short of it." The green Gem replied. "But it doesn't have to be this way. What's done is done, but it doesn't have to be like this. We can shatter the Diamonds, succeed where they failed, start a new age for gem-kind." She offered a hand to the blacksmith. "What do you say?" Bismuth thought for a moment before grabbing her hand.

"You've got yourself a deal." She replied, shaking Uranium's hand. "Now, where do we start?"


	2. Chapter 2: Planning Stage

**Toxic Relations**

* * *

"You've got yourself a deal." Bismuth replied, shaking Uranium's hand. "Now, where do we start?"

"Where we start, is right here." The green Gem replied, grabbing a worn down recliner from the piles of junk that surrounded them and dragging it into the middle of the open space. "I had a squad like you once, back during the war for this planet. On the way to, Earth, I will never get used to that name, I sat all the soldiers under my command down and had a talk with them. Got to know them. In turn, I trusted them, and they trusted me. We just got along so much better after that." She saw a couch that was just as worn down as the chair on the second level."Hey Flint, could you grab that couch?" The black quartz nodded, jumping to the second floor and grabbing the couch before returning and setting it down. "Excellent. Now, if you would all be so kind as to wait outside the barn, I will see you one at a time." The other 4 exchanged some glances before all walking out.

* * *

 **0000**

* * *

"So, how'd you get here?"

"I was grown here." Amethyst replied, staring at the ceiling and putting her legs up on the end of the couch. "Popped out of the ground after everyone else left." Uranium nodded to herself, elbows on the arms of the chair.

"And after the dust had settled, Rose found you?"

"Yeah, she did." The purple gem said with a small nod. "She told me that, my defect, me, being short… It was what made me special. That I was just as good as any other quartz."

"Now, be honest with me; how well has that worked out?" She went silent for a few moments, trying to find an answer.

"It hasn't." She sighed. "I try to fight like a Quartz, and I always get knocked down." The green gem nodded, before standing up.

"Okay. This is good." She said, nodding to herself. "I'm not going to sugar coat this; Rose lied to you."

"She what!?" Amethyst shrieked, her tone giving away that it was news to her as she sat up.

"Yep. She lied to you, saying that you were equal to a normal Quartz. If you were to walk out there and challenge Flint or even Jasper in the state you're in now, you'd be back in your Gem like that." She snapped her fingers for effect. A look of worry spread across the purple gem's face as she brought her legs to her chest, tears beginning to well.

"Why would she do that?" She asked, her voice slightly muffled.

"Probably to not hurt your feelings. To make you feel like less of a mistake." Uranium could hear her trying to hold back her tears, complete with sniffling. "But it doesn't have to be that way. You're not a good Quartz, but that doesn't mean you can't be a good… you." The sniffling slowed down.

"What do mean?" Amethyst asked, wiping away the tears.

"You ever hear of Guerilla tactics? Hit-and-Run? Heard about it all the time back when Vietnam was still happening." She nodded. "That's what you need to be doing. Strike, run, repeat. Of course, the Quartz in you will try to resist that. It'll try to fight that way of fighting. But, I can fix that." The green gem's hand started glowing. "Just say yes, and you won't be a Quartz, you'll only be Amethyst." She felt her hand being grabbed and placed on the gem of her violet patient.

"I want this." She replied with a nod, the glow beginning to intensify.

"Welcome home." She said with a nod. "Beginning hard reset process." The glow subsided, seeming to transfer to the purple gem's eyes, turning both cavities into a flat, glowing green. "Good. That'll be it for now. I'll retrain you later. Walk outside, and don't forget to open the door. I've had that happen to one of my soldiers before." Amethyst nodded before walking out of the barn. "Next!"

* * *

 **000**

* * *

"So, what's on your mind Jasper?"

"Fusion." She replied bluntly, sitting on the floor next to the couch. "Being, fused. Being beaten, by fusions." She seemed to be struggling to say her words. "I can't, escape them." Uranium nodded.

"You know, I never fused before." She said with a shrug. "One of a kind, can't fight, why would I?" She turned to look her hulking comrade in the eye. "So tell me, what's it like?"

"It's, supposed to make, you stronger." She replied. "But, I'm always, worse off, when I'm fused."

"Sounds horrible." The green gem said, giving a quick nod. "Though, if I may ask, have you ever tried working with your fellow gem when you fuse?" Jasper's face went blank.

"No." She replied, having just had a moment of realization.

"Come. Follow me." Uranium lead Jasper towards the back wall of the barn, the place where there was the most space. "Now, fuse with m-" Without even finishing the sentence, the radioactive gem was grabbed by her larger counterpart, a flash of light filled the barn, and the two were one, forming a large woman, who, now being forced to sit, still touched the ceiling.

"So, this is what being fused is like?" The giant woman asked herself, amazed by her own voice. "Well, that's a bit weird, but in a good way." She looked at her arms, her legs, seeing the hodgepodge of aquamarine and muted orange that was her skin. "I could get used to this. But not now. There's still more that needs to be done." With another flash of light, the two gems reappeared.

"So, how was that?" Uranium asked with a sincere smile.

"I will do anything to be her again." Jasper replied with wide eyes and a shocked expression.

"Ah, so you liked that? Well, maybe we can, but only if I can do something first." She poked her orange friend on one of her horns. "I'm going to get that corruption out of your system. How would you like that?"

"Yes. Please." Jasper said with a desperate nod.

"Well then." Uranium smiled warmly as she placed a hand on Jasper's gem. "Beginning hard reset process." With a bright flash of light, the Quartz let out a primal yell, the aqua green and horns retracting into her body until finally she was back to her original state; giant, long white hair, and several shades of orange and nothing else, though her eyes had gone a plain green. "Alright. Looking good. Outside. And use the door. Next!"

* * *

 **00**

* * *

"So Bismuth… How are you doing?" Uranium lead in awkwardly, a look of distrust being shot at her from the rainbow Gem.

"Look. Why are you even doing this? Why not do whatever you did to Amethyst and the Jasper out there and do what you did to me? From what I've seen, you'd be doing me a favor."

"Bismuth, you misunderstand why I do that." She said with a smile. "You're perfect just the way you are. Amethyst and Jasper I had to reset to get all the bugs out of. But you have something else they don't, something that Flint doesn't even have; self awareness." Uranium stood and began to pace the room. "I won't lie to you, this is the first time I've ever had someone under my command that wasn't under my control, if that makes sense. Normally I wouldn't trust that, but since we're working towards the same goal, I feel as though I can trust you enough to not stab me in the back." She stopped, looking Bismuth in the eye. "I trust you. But do you trust me?" The gray skinned gem thought for a moment before nodding to herself. "Good. Now, I need you to build something to help our friends outside." She took a seat, putting her fingers together.

"Okay. But what do you want me to build?"

"Something to reprogram Gems that have had their base programming rewritten." Silence filled the room, Bismuth confused and Uranium sitting with a serious look on her face.

"You're serious?"

"Look. When I did that little trick to my soldiers during the war, I had the advantage of rebuilding them how I wanted over the course of several Earth years. We don't have that much time for those two. Even as we speak, Rose could be gathering her army to strike back at us. Now, we can either get bubbled in a fight of 3 on 4, or you can try and build something to get those two up to speed." The rainbow haired Gem thought for a moment, weighing her options before finally shaking her head.

"No. I can't do it. I was built to build towers and weapons, not machines."

"Hm. A real shame then. It looks like we have two gems with nothing to do." It was at that moment that Uranium remembered something. "Wait. Rose has a Peridot. Maybe, if we could get her to our side, she could build us something for what I have in mind."

"Yeah, well good luck. You have 3 Quartz, 2 of which aren't ready to do anything, and Rose-"

"I know what I'm up against." The radioactive gem exclaimed.

"Well, if you're gonna do this, you might as well get yourself armed." Bismuth said, getting to her feet.

"Wait. Where are you going?" She asked, standing up as well as she walked the blacksmith walk towards the barn door.

"My old workshop. Gonna give you a way to fight back on your own." The therapist nodded as she followed along. The two left the barn, the green gem taking a deep breath before looking at her only active soldier. "Hey Flint!" The black quartz turned to her leader. "You're in charge!" She gave a thumbs up and returned to what she was doing previously. "I'm sure they'll be fine for a little while."

"Whatever you say." The blacksmith said with a shrug as they walked towards the warp-pad.

* * *

 **00**

* * *

The two gems stepped off the warp-pad, a large volcano within sight, and began making their way down the blackened mountain until they came upon a large black cube, only differentiating itself from the rest of the mountain by how unnaturally smooth it was. Standing in front of the cube, Bismuth sighed, channeling her energy through her gem and causing the cube to open up like her gem. "Hey, I heard about this place." Uranium said as Bismuth opened the cube up. "This was where you made the actual weapons for the Crystal Gems. Looks like it's in pretty good shape."

"How would you know that?" Bismuth asked, beginning to enter the former cube. "Homeworld never knew about this place."

"A lot of time makes you think and find some things." The green skinned gem revealed, running her hand against the interior wall.

The two entered the forge, and the gray skinned gem gave a hearty sigh. "Like I never even left." She told herself, beginning to scrounge what she needed from the surrounding materials. "So, Doc. Can I call you Doc?"

"Been called worse so yes." Uranium replied, taking a seat on a nearby chest.

"Well Doc, what I'm making you might take a bit. So, why not switch things up a little?"

"How do you figure?"

"Why not tell me your life story while I work on this?"

"Fine. Don't exactly get to tell this story often anyways." Uranium made herself comfortable on the chest she sat on.

"It began on Homeworld, but I'm sure you've heard that start before." She began, watching Bismuth work. "I popped out, and the Gems running the Kindergarten put me on a ship before I even knew what I was doing." She paused, hearing the pounding of metal. "I spent quite a while on that ship, figuring out what I could do, rewiring a few of the gems onboard to get them working optimally, etcetera, etcetera, until I finally landed on Earth. I had been sent there for one reason, and one reason only; to stop Rose Quartz."

"Yeah, I've heard that story before." Bismuth yelled over the sound of clanging metal. "Lotta Gems said those exact words. Look where it got them."

"Except that I had been sent there with a different method of doing so besides brute force; persuasion." She continued. "My job was to change the hearts and minds of Rose's soldiers, be it by choice or by force. Actually got a pretty sizable battalion going until the Diamonds got impatient and decided to corrupt the entire planet."

"Wait. Corrupted the planet?" Bismuth asked, stopping her work to hear this.

"Yeah, the whole thing. It was a quick flash of light and then, everything went to ****. Those who couldn't get out in time were stuck to get corrupted. There were only a few who made it out with their minds intact; you, Rose Quartz and what soldiers she had left, and me."

"Okay, now this one I have to hear. How'd you avoid something like that?"

"While everyone was distracted with the doomsday weapon above their heads, Rose Quartz included, I took a primitive dagger off of a dead human and ran for her. She hugged her Pearl and her abominable fusion and began forming a bubble around them. My window was closing, so I leaped for it, making it in barely. And there I was, looking my enemy in the eye with dagger held high, ready to stab her in the gem until suddenly, a white flash went off outside the bubble." She sighed once again, staring at the blacksmith silently. "Before I knew it, I had lost everything. My battalion had scattered, Rose Quartz was gone, and her Fusion had punched me right in the face. Been wandering since that day, resenting both the Diamonds for corrupting this planet, and Rose Quartz for leaving me as one of the few with their mind in tact."

"Wow, sounds, awful." Bismuth replied, sympathy in her tone as she gave one last clang before nodding to herself. "Never got to see the end of the war. Was locked up in Rose's lion for that part."  
"Rose has a lion?" Bismuth rolled her eyes and continued.

"She said she didn't want to shatter our enemies, and that my thinking had to go away." The blacksmith walked over to Uranium, holding something in her arms. "That's why Rose bubbled me, hid me away." The green gem took the weapon, and held it in her hands. The weapon itself looked like a large gray chisel, topped off with a lime green hilt. "It's done. One Chisel Knife, ready to go." She exclaimed, her tone shifting from one of sadness to one of confidence. "The sheathe is able to shatter gems if you strike them hard enough, and the blade inside goes through a Gem's physical form like it was nothing." Uranium could only smile, looking at the blade in front of her and drawing it from its sheath, revealing the gray, single-edged blade inside.

"Oh yeah, this is gonna work nicely." The green-skinned Gem said to herself with a nod, resheathing the blade. "Well, guess it's time to move forward with the plan. Thank you Bismuth. Head back to the barn and await further orders. I've got something to deal with."

"Hey. It was a pleasure doing Bismuth with ya." Bismuth replied as Uranium headed towards the exit, chuckling as she left.

* * *

 **000**

* * *

The Crystal Gems' temple was quiet. Peridot was sitting on Steven's couch, still looking at the wall opposite of her while Lapis sat a few feet away from her in front of Steven's TV, not so much watching it as just staring at it. Steven, Pearl and Garnet had left on another mission, and after the last time, they made the wise choice of putting the Gem that could control the oceans on guard duty. Peridot wasn't about to argue about the protection, as she had already gotten her butt handed to her. "Hey Lapis?" The green Gem asked, shifting herself to look up.

"Yeah?" The blue Gem responded, shifting her focus away from the box.

"Do you think that once the others get back, you could help me with something?"

"Yeah. What do you need?"

"Well, my Limb Enhancers are currently at the Galaxy Warp-Pad, at the bottom of the ocean-"

"And you want me to fish them out. Is that it?" Peridot nodded, a look of hope on her face. "Yeah. I can help you with that."

"Oh thank you!" The green Gem exclaimed, ready to jump up to the second story and hug her friend, but the sound of the warp-pad going off stopped her. They both turned towards the pad, to see Uranium and Flint standing there.

"Why'd they add this? It looks terrible." The radioactive Gem monologued, touching the wooden floors while looking at the two other gems in the room. Lapis didn't hesitate to attack, shattering Steven's upstairs window to bring a large water hand in and dragging her outside.

"I've had enough of you!" Lapis yelled, slamming her new opponent into the sand. "We've all had enough of you!" She used her water hand to toss Uranium a bit further down the beach. "And now you're not going anywhere until the others get back!" She quickly locked the radioactive Gem in place with a ball of water. She sighed, beginning to walk back to the temple, the ball in tow, when she heard boiling. She turned back to see the water bubble gone and Uranium smiling to herself. "What!?" Lapis screamed in rage and confusion, forming a water hand to slam the radioactive Gem into the sand. The palm of the water hand evaporated and Uranium got up, laughing maniacally.

"Well isn't this a turn of events!" She cheered, beginning to run towards Lapis. The blue skinned Gem continued to create bubbles around her opponent, each one larger than the last, but all they managed to do was slow her down, the water evaporating quickly as she kept getting closer and closer, until finally she was upon the water-controlling Gem. "Looks like I win, and you will be so useful to me." She muttered to herself, pulling out the knife she had gotten from Bismuth and stabbing it into Lapis' chest. The blue Gem let out a sudden gasp of pain. She turned, seeing a flash from Steven's now shattered window, and she smiled.

"We'll see about that." Were her last words before Uranium slashed through her form and she poofed back into her gem.

"See about what? I've already won." Uranium told herself, grabbing Lapis' gem and beginning to head towards the temple, only to see Flint get flung across the beach, Peridot's head clenched in her left fist, the engineer making noises that could roughly be translated to "Let me go! Let me go you clod!".

"Let her go!" Garnet's voice rang out as she lunged at the black skinned Gem, beginning to wail on her opponent, with Steven and Pearl not far behind. This was going south, and fast. She had to think of a plan.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! Hold on now!" The radioactive Gem yelled, getting everyone's attention. "This needs to stop! If not for your sake, then hers!" She revealed Lapis' gem in her hand.

"Lapis!" Steven cried, readying his shield. "You let her go right now!"

"I can't do that Rose." She replied. "But I can make you a deal." Steven thought for a moment, tears in his eyes.

"Alright, I'll hear you out." Steven replied with a nod.

"Good. Cooperation. I like that in a negotiator." She said with a nod. "Now. Option 1. I leave the Peridot here, taking the Lapis with me. Or option 2. I take the Peridot with me and leave the Lapis." Steven let out a "Uhhh" of confusion, not sure which choice to make.

"Can you give us a minute to think about this?" He asked nervously.

"Oh of course. Big choice and all. Hell, I'll give you two. But you'll need to make a decision by then, or else they'll both be shattered." Peridot sounded off with muffled pleas for her life to be spared. Steven nodded, before huddling up with Pearl and Garnet.

"Guys, what should we do?" He asked nervously.

"Well, I think the choice is obvious; we give them Peridot." Pearl said with a small shrug.

"But Pearl-"

"Steven. If we let Lapis fall into the wrong hands, we will all die, no matter what we do." Garnet interjected. "As much you may not think it is, giving Peridot over would be the lesser of two evils." Steven sighed before turning back to Uranium, who was holding a chisel inches away from Lapis' gem.

"We've decided to keep Lapis!" Steven yelled, a few tears in his eyes as he said it.

"Well then catch!" Uranium said, tossing the blue gem to him. He caught it, seeing that the pair of bad gems beginning to walk off with Peridot, who had stopped struggling. "Pleasure dealing with you Rose! We'll show ourselves out!" She cackled as she entered Steven's part of the temple. One bright flash later, the pair had escaped with their prize.

Steven gripped Lapis' gem tightly in frustration before it started glowing. "Oh right." He told himself, setting it down and letting Lapis reform, looking like she had when her form had collapsed before. She looked around, angry and confused the second she could.

"Where'd they go!?" She snarled, seeing nothing but an empty beach and Steven's concerned face.

"They got away." He muttered with defeat, Garnet and Pearl leaving to check the temple for damages and bubbled gem count respectively. "I'm sorry. It was either her, or you. We couldn't lose you." The blue gem clenched her fists, and let out a sigh.

"Steven. Do you have any bottles I could borrow?"


End file.
